Irrational Games yesterday revealed Bioshock Infinite, sequel to two of the most immersive and stunning games released in recent years. Initially conceived as ‘Project Icarus’, Infinite distances itself from the claustrophobic underwater city of Rapture and instead, sets itself in the floating city of Columbia, a statement of American glory at the start of the 20th Century.

Set before the first two games where the emphasis was on an elite dystopia hidden from the public, the steampunk city of Columbia is shown as a beacon of the USA’s might, yet has fallen into a tragedy of its own. The gameplay remains similar to BioShock 1 and 2, with the ability to wield plasmid-like powers alongside weapons.

Similarly, the trailer reveals a model of a Big Daddy prior to a variation on the game’s iconic character throwing the protagonist, ex-private detective Booker DeWitt, out of a window. The story of Infinite revolves around his investigation of Columbia after the heavily armed city succumbs to a disastrous secret, centred around Elizabeth, the girl from the trailer.

How the intense atmosphere of Rapture translates to the vastly openness of the skies is yet to be seen, but the other key changes emphasised by Irrational’s Kevin Levine is of the AI enemies. He said of the new game: "When designing BioShock Infinite, we thought, 'wouldn't it be great if you walked into a room in this game and you didn't necessarily know the dispositions of the people in it? Are they going to sit there? Are they going to attack you? What might set them off?'” (via CVG)

"We really wanted to have a notion that not everyone in the city was automatically hostile towards you. Instead it has more of that 'Wild West' feel where you walk into a bar with your hand on your pistol and you're not sure what's going to happen to you," he added, suggesting that the choice mechanics may be improved for Infinite to allow greater variation in gameplay.

Though there was no word given about possible multiplayer like in Bioshock 2, the trailer and details given about BioShock Infinite promise a worthy successor that will have fans eagerly anticipating a rampage through the streets of Columbia.